Nine children and their teacher were killed Thursday when their school van plunged into a deep pond in Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam district.
The van, which was carrying 25 children from the Devi Nursery School, slipped off the road and fell into a 15 ft deep pond in Katripullam village near Vedaranyam, about 350 km from here.
Police officials said 11 students had been rescued and sent to hospital while a search was on to locate the missing five.
The van driver, who is absconding, seemed to have lost control as the road was slippery, police said. The van has been pulled out of the water.
Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has announced financial relief of Rs.550,000 to the families of the five boys, four girls and their woman teacher who lost their lives.